Vocabulary
Vocabulary refers to the set of words that a person knows or uses. It's an essential component of language and communication. Vocabulary can be divided into two types: active and passive.
Active vocabulary (or expressive vocabulary) comprises the words that we use regularly and comfortably in speaking and writing. These are the words we can easily recall and construct sentences with.
Passive vocabulary (or receptive vocabulary) includes words that we recognize and understand when we hear or read them, but don't use as regularly in our own speech or writing. This is often larger than our active vocabulary because it includes many words that we understand but don't use.
Vocabulary development is a key aspect of learning a language. As you're exposed to more words and contexts, you gradually add to your vocabulary. This can be through reading, conversation, academic study, and other methods of language exposure.
A rich vocabulary can enhance your communication skills, comprehension, and expression. It enables you to convey your thoughts and ideas more effectively and understand more of what you hear and read.
Calendar
nino is translated as day in English.
Acholi | English |
| Nino dwe | day of the week |
| nino acel | one day |
| nino mi acel,ariyo, piero angween | first day of the week, second day of the week, twenty fourth day of the week. |
| nino mi wiro rwot | day of chief coronation |
| Nino ni nyuale | Christmas |
Week
There are seven days in a week in Acholi. A day is call ceng which imply the sun. It is used because a day is when the sun is up, disappear and until you see it again(i.e next morning). A day begins in the morning when the sun is up and ends the next morning when the sun is up again. Days are counted from one to seven hence, one(baraja) and seven(cabit).
| English | Acholi |
| Monday | Ceng baraja |
| Tuesday | Ceng Ariyo |
| Wednesday | Ceng Adek |
| Thursday | Ceng Agwen |
| Friday | Ceng Abic |
| Saturday | Ceng Abicel |
| Sunday | Ceng Cabit |
Month
Month is call dwe in Acholi language. Unlike in other languages, month in Acholi is number from one to twelve. Dwe mi means month of e.g. dwe mi acel means January.
| English | Acholi |
| January | Dwe mi Acel |
| February | Dwe mi Ariyo |
| March | Dwe mi Adek |
| April | Dwe mi Agwen |
| May | Dwe mi Abic |
| Jun | Dwe mi Abicel |
| July | Dwe mi Abiro |
| August | Dwe mi Aboro |
| September | Dwe mi Abongwen |
| October | Dwe mi Apar |
| November | Dwe mi Apar wie Acel |
| December | Dwe mi Apar wie Ariyo |
Days of the month
English | Acholi |
| First day | Nino dwe Acel |
| Second day | Nino dwe ariyo |
| Third day | Nino dwe adek |
| Fourth day | Nino dwe angwuen |
| Fifth day | Nino dwe abic |
| Sixth day | Nino dwe abicel |
| Seventh day | Nino dwe abrio |
| Eighth day | Nino dwe aboro |
| Ninth day | Nino dwe abongquen |
| Tenth day | Nino dwe apar |
| Eleventh day | Nino dwe apar wie acel |
| Twelfth day | Nino dwe apar wie ariyo |
| Thirteenth day | Nino dwe apar wie adek |
| Fourteenth day | Nino dwe apar wie angwuen |
| Fifteen day | Nino dwe apar wie abic |
| Sixteenth day | Nino dwe apar wie abicel |
| Seventeenth day | Nino dwe apar wie abiro |
| Eighteenth day | Nino dwe apar wie aboro |
| Nineteenth day | Nino dwe apar wie abongwuen |
| Twentieth day | Nino dwe piero ariyo |
| Twenty first day | Nino dwe piero ariyo wie acel |
| twenty second day | Nino dwe piero ariyo wie ariyo |
| twenty third day | Nino dwe piero ariyo wie adek |
| twenty fourth day | Nino dwe piero ariyo wie angwuen |
| twenty fifth day | Nino dwe piero ariyo wie abic |
| twenty sixth day | Nino dwe piero ariyo wie abicel |
| twenty seventh day | Nino dwe piero ariyo wie abiro |
| twenty eighth day | Nino dwe piero ariyo wie aboro |
| twenty ninth day | Nino dwe piero ariyo wie abongquen |
| thirtieth day | Nino dwe piero adek |
| thirty first day | Nino dwe piero adek wie acel |
Onyoni/mwoka
The true way of calling a year in Acholi is Onyoni. Mwoka is adapted from kiswahili.
English | Acholi |
| this year | Onyoni |
Mathematics
Counting zero to nine in Acholi.
| English | Acholi |
| Zero | nono |
| One | Acel |
| Two | Ariyo |
| Three | Adek |
| Four | Agwen |
| Five | Abic |
| Six | Abicel |
| Seven | Abiro |
| Eight | Aboro |
| Nine | Abongwen |
Counting from ten to million
Counting from 10th to 1,000,000 in Acholi.
| English | Acholi |
| Ten | Apar |
| Twenty to ninety | piero |
| Hundred | mia |
| Thousand | alip |
| Million | milion |
Age
We determine age group of people organising them into their ranks e.g. child, adult etc.
| Acholi | English | Digit |
| Bulu | teen, adolescence | 13-19 |
| Lonyodo, ladit | Adult | 18 and above |
| Latin | Child | 0-12 |
| lotiyo | retirees | 65 |
Constructing sentences
| English | Acholi |
| she is a single mother | en carama |
| he/she is a parent | en dong lanyodo |
| they are now youth | gin dong bulu I kombeti |
Time
Second
English | Acholi |
| zero second(0) | Nyige nono(o) |
| ten seconds(10) | Nyige apar(10) |
| twenty seconds(20) | Nyige piero ario(20) |
| thirty seconds(30) | Nyige piero adek(30) |
| Forty seconds (40) | Nyige piero angwuen(40) |
| fifty seconds(50) | Nyige piero abic(50) |
| Sixty seconds(60) | Nyige piero abicel(60) |
Minutes
English | Acholi |
| zero minute(0) | dakika nono(0) |
| ten minutes(10) | dakika apar(10) |
| twenty minutes(20) | Dakika piero ario(20) |
| thirty minutes(30) | Dakika piero adek(30) |
| Forty minutes(40) | Dakika piero angwuen(40) |
| fifty minutes(50) | Dakika piero abic(50) |
| Sixty minutes(60) | dakika piero abicel(60) |
Telling time
Acholi do not have twenty four hours system. Time start at seven and ends at six at any time of the day.
| English | Acholi |
| One O'clock(1:00pm) | Cawa abiro(7:00) |
| Two O'clock(2:00pm) | Cawa Aboro(8:00) |
| Three O'clock(3:00pm) | Cawa Abongwen(9:00) |
| four O'clock(4:00pm) | Cawa Apar(10:00) |
| Five O'clock(5:00pm) | Cawa Apar wie acel(11:00) |
| Six O'clock(6:00pm) | Cawa Apar wie ario(12:00) |
| Seven O'clock(7:00pm) | Cawa Acel(1:00) |
| Eight O'clock(8:00pm) | Cawa Ario(2:00) |
| Nine O'clock(9:00pm) | Cawa Adek(3:00) |
| Ten O'clock(10:00pm) | Cawa angwen(4:00) |
| Eleven O'clock(11:00pm) | Cawa Abic(5:00) |
| Twelve O'clock(00:00am) | Cawa Abicel(6:00) |
Telling time based on situation
| English | Acholi |
| Dawn | Kugweno |
| morning | Odiko |
| midday | Di ceng |
| Afternoon | Obwora |
| evening | Otieno |
| night | Di wor |
| midnight | cwiny di wor |
| today | tin |
| tomorrow | diki |
| next tomorrow | diki maca |
| Yesterday | La woro |
| Last year | mwoka ma okato |
| next year | mwoka ma bino |
| Christmas | Nino ni nyuale |
| always | Jwi |
Kare
English | Acholi |
| seven o'clock to six o'clock | Kare acel - kare apar Wie ariyo |
| past time | Kare ma okato |
| Summer time | Kare mi oro |
| Winter time | Kare mi cwiri |
| night time | Kare mi odiwo |
| evening time | kare mi Otieno |
| sowing time | Kare mi pur |
| hunting time | kare mi dwar |
Constructing sentence
| English | Acholi |
| The weather is darkening | piny ne tye rik in anga |
| Christmas is in December | nino ni nyuale i dwe mi apar wi ariyo |
| I will come tomorrow | Abino diki |
| He/she return yesterday | Odwoko laworo |